Piling Productivities

Foundation and Piling Production Rates

	Bored Piles	CFA Bored Piles	Driven H Piles
Advantages	Bored pile are used to support multi-story building or bridges which can producing heavy vertical loads	They are quick to install and have no requirement for temporary or permanent casings	Driven piles are driven to a set in variable site conditions to achieve uniform minimum capacity with high reliability
Methodology	Pile drilled / soil removed and replaced with reinforced concrete	Auger drilled into ground and replaced with concrete as the auger is removed	Steel section driven into the ground
Design — Effect on adjacent ground	No displacement of the soil but the potential for relaxation / softening adjacent ground, dependant upon the soil and bore support used	Typically no displacement with good construction controls. Localised densification of loose non-cohesive soils.	Small cross sectional area and hence minimal soil displacement or potential improvement
Design — Typical size ranges	450-2500mm diameter	450 – 1200 mm diameter depths up to 32m	150 – 350 UC’s, UBPs
Design — Capacity - Shaft friction	Medium	Medium	Medium
Design — Capacity - End bearing	Very high with enlarged base	Medium	High
Design — Capacity - Structural	Very high structural capacity and stiffness achievable	Cage insertion can limit tensile and flexural capacity at depth	Driving stresses often govern the steel section required
Design — Durability	Conventional concrete in the ground design. Permanent liner in highly aggressive conditions	Conventional concrete in the ground design	Sacrificial thickness of steel above low groundwater level
Construction — Typical / Plant	Hydraulic or crane mounted piling rig, handling crane, casing, vibro with powerpack and / or drilling support fluid plant	Hydraulic piling rig, concrete pump and possible handling crane	Crane, vibro hammer or hydraulic hammer with powerpack or drop hammer and leaders or guide frame
Construction — Piling productivity	16m deep - 600dia @ 2No/day in soft material including a 3m soft rock socket depth. Detailed production rates	16m deep - 600dia @ 11No/day in soft material including a 3m soft rock socket depth	16m deep - 350 UC’s @ 22No/day in soft material
Construction — Material to Plant	Concrete, reinforcement cages and method dependant material	Concrete and reinforcement cages	Steel sections
Construction — Materials storage	Casing and cage lay down area	Cage lay down area	H pile lay down area
Construction — Noise	Machine only unless driven casing	Machine only	Yes, if vibro used hammer used to obtain pile set
Construction — Vibration	No, unless driven casing used	No	Yes
Construction — Spoil	100% Nett volume	100% Nett volume	None
Construction - Other	Plunged columns can be placed into the top of the pile to structural positional tolerances	Fast installation process with real time monitoring systems for construction control and records	Full strength welded splice used at connections. Predrilling can be used to overcome obstructions

	Driven Tubes Piles	Precast Concrete Piles	Vibro replacement
Advantages	They are ideally suited for marine and other near shore applications with a very high end bearing capability	Precast driven piles can be environmentally friendly when construct temporary trestles in wetland	Stone piles are a very effective technique, for resolving issues with liquefiable soils, that fall within the typical grain size range
Methodology	Tube driven using external or internal hammer and filled with reinforced concrete	Pre cast section driven into the ground	Soil displaced or removed and replaced with stone
Design — Effect on adjacent ground	Large displacement of plugged tubes resulting in densification of non-cohesive soils and enhanced capacity	Large displacement resulting in densification of non-cohesive soils and enhanced capacity	Large displacement with densification of non-cohesive soils surrounding the stone column which enhances the capacity
Design — Typical size ranges	350 – 750 mm diameter	250 – 600 mm square	600 – 1200 mm diameter
Design — Capacity - Shaft friction	Medium	Medium	Low
Design — Capacity - End bearing	Very high	Very High	Low
Design — Capacity - Structural	Tubes can be reinforced concrete filled to enhance capacity	Lifting, driving and jointing can limit capacity	Stone quality & confinement in the soil limit the capacity
Design — Durability	Sacrificial thickness of steel and internal reinforced concrete	Conventional concrete in the ground design. Review potential corrosion at joints	Weathering / degradation of stone typically not an issue
Construction — Typical / Plant	Crane, vibro hammer or hydraulic hammer with powerpack or drop hammer, leaders or guide frame	Crane, hydraulic hammer with powerpack or drop hammer, leaders or guide frame	Crane, vibro probe with power pack, water pumps, compressor and front loader
Construction — Piling productivity	16m deep - 600mm Dia piles @ 22No/day	16m deep - 300mm square piles @ 20No/day	12m deep @ 6No/day in soft material
Construction — Material to Plant	Steel tubes, reinforcement cages and concrete	Precast concrete piles unless manufactured on site	Stone
Construction — Materials storage	Tube and cage lay down area	Precast pile lay down / curing area	Stone stockpiles
Construction — Noise	Yes if top driven but limited if bottom driven	Yes	Machine only
Construction — Vibration	Yes	Yes	Yes
Construction — Spoil	None, but ground heave possible	None, but ground heave possible	20 - 100% Nett volume
Construction — Other	Predrilling can be used to overcome obstructions. Enlarged bases can be formed to enhance capacity	Variable pile founding depth can lead to high wastage levels and jointing expensive	Top feed “Wet” process requires water circulation system and settlement ponds to contain silts

	Sheet Pile Wall	Secant Pile Wall	Diaphragm Wall
Advantages	Sheet piles are best suited for the following applications: temporary retaining walls, cofferdams and other temporary structures	This is a permanent solution which provides increased wall stiffness compared to sheet piles	Diaphragm walls tend to be used for retaining very deep excavations as they can be designed to take very high structural loads
Methodology	Clutched sheet piles driven into position.	A series of piles installed so that they overlap to form a wall.	A series of interlocking reinforced concrete panels.
Construction — Establishment	Cranes, vibros and hammers and / or pile jacking plant	50-60T self erecting hydraulic drilling rigs and handling crane.	50T crane + grab, handling crane, mud conditioning plant, mud storage
Construction — Piling productivity	16m deep - 600mm wide sheet piles @ 22No/day (in clay or sand materials)	16m deep - 600dia @ 4No/day in soft material including a 3m soft rock socket depth	16m deep by 800mm wide @ 14-40m3/day of completed wall per rig per day
Construction — Materials to site	Sheet Piles	Concrete, reinforcement cages	Bentonite, reinforcement cages or concrete panels
Construction — Work face access	Plant & Materials delivery	Plant & Materials delivery	Plant materials and pipelines for mud circulation
Construction — Noise	Yes, unless jacked in	Machine only	Machine only
Construction — Vibration	Yes, unless jacked in	No	No
Construction — Spoil	No	100% nett volume	100% nett volume
Product — Wall Movement	Flexible, can be increased with clutched king piles. More props or anchors can be used to reduce movements	In-situ wall with ground supported throughout construction. Very stiff.	Ground supported throughout excavation. Stiffest option given wall thickness
Product — Watertightness	Good with joint treatment	Groundwater control over pile length and satisfactory performance with some seepages	Excellent over full depth of the wall with waterbar across panel joints.
Product — Connections	Welded below capping beam level	Drilled & grouted bars into piles, shear & bending capacity possible	Full moment & shear connection via box-out and pull-out bars
Product — Durability	Internal painting and sacrificial thickness of steel	Conventional concrete in the ground design. Internal lining for long-term seepage	Conventional concrete in the ground design. No internal lining necessary
Product — Load Capacity	Low end bearing capacity	Capacity can be enhanced by increasing the length of piles	Wall has a large bearing area and individual panels can be extended

	Soldier Pile Wall	Bored Pile Wall	Soilmix/Slurry Wall
Advantages	Soldier pile and lagging walls are the most inexpensive systems compared to other retaining walls. They are also very easy and fast to construct	Low cost and speed of construction for temporary and permanent retaining walls and soil support	Excellent resistance to contaminated groundwater. They have ability to adapt to ground movements such as earthquakes
Methodology	Constructed using piles timber infill panels (timber, steel or concrete)	Series of bored piles installed relatively close together with shotcrete arches	Steel or precast concrete elements placed in fluid soilmix / slurry
Construction — Establishment	50-60T self erecting hydraulic drilling rigs and handling crane	50-60T self erecting hydraulic drilling rigs, handling crane and concrete pumps	50T crane + grab / CSM, handling crane / grout plant with screw feed silos, high pressure pumps
Construction — Piling productivity	16m deep - 300mm square piles @ 18No/day	16m deep - 600dia @ 4No/day in soft material including a 3m soft rock socket depth	16m deep by 800mm wide @ 20-50m3/day of completed wall per rig per day
Construction — Materials to site	Concrete, reinforcement cages, steel or precast concrete panels	Concrete, reinforcement cages	Cement, bentonite, steel or precast concrete panels
Construction — Work face access	Plant & Materials delivery	Plant & Materials delivery	Plant, materials and pipeline delivery of slurry
Construction — Noise	Yes, if driven sections	Machine only	Machine only
Construction — Vibration	Yes, if driven sections	No	No
Construction — Spoil	Dependant on installation method	100% nett volume	30%-80% Nett volume
Product — Wall Movement	Ground unsupported allowing relaxation prior placement of panels and backfilling. Stiffness depends on structural section and backfill compaction	Ground unsupported allowing relaxation prior to concrete. Finished product stiff	Ground supported with stiffness dependant on steel section. Precast panels can increase stiffness.
Product — Watertightness	Permeable with no groundwater control below excavation. Seepages long term	Permeable until shotcrete in place with no groundwater control below. Seepages long term	Good temporary performance due to replacement with CB slurry but some seepages
Product — Connections	Numerous connection options dependant on materials used	Drilled and grouted bars into piles, shear and bending capacity possible	Welded to steel sections, shear & bending capacity possible.
Product — Durability	Conventional concrete in the ground design or sacrificial steel thickness given long term seepage potential	Conventional concrete in ground design	Sacrificial thickness of steel and internal lining wall for long-term groundwater seepage
Product — Load Capacity	Capacity can be enhanced by increasing the length of piles.	Capacity can be enhanced by increasing the length of some piles.	Capacity limited by penetration of steel beams

Last updated on November 27, 2025

Pile Cutting Back Pile Installation Productivity